The Vinsmoke Family once dominated the North Blue through force. Even after falling into decline, it was still a power that could not be underestimated.
As for why Doflamingo's deal with Big Mom involved the Vinsmoke Family, that was entirely because Doflamingo deliberately set them up.
Doflamingo was willing to hand over the manufacturing method for artificial Devil Fruits, but that was worthless to Big Mom. Even if she possessed the method, she could not produce artificial Devil Fruits unless she kidnapped Caesar Clown.
Once Big Mom kidnapped Caesar Clown, it would undoubtedly trigger another war. By then, the main force in the war would not be the Donquixote Family, but Kaido.
Therefore, the method for manufacturing artificial Devil Fruits was useless to Big Mom. Under those circumstances, Doflamingo showed her a glimmer of hope.
The document Doflamingo had produced earlier contained a piece of secret intelligence: Vinsmoke Judge, head of the Vinsmoke Family, had once worked alongside Vegapunk for an illegal research team. During their research, they discovered the "Lineage Factor," a research achievement obtained through an in-depth analysis of Devil Fruits.
Vegapunk had developed artificial Devil Fruits by relying on the "Lineage Factor." Caesar Clown could only be considered a successor.
Vinsmoke Judge, who had researched the "Lineage Factor" alongside Vegapunk, was naturally no ordinary man. His research into the Lineage Factor was even more advanced. He had even created artificial humans, as well as children who were born with portions of Devil Fruit abilities.
If even the half-baked Caesar Clown could create artificial Devil Fruits, how could Vinsmoke Judge, who had mastered the Lineage Factor, fail to develop them?
No. Vinsmoke Judge had already been developing "innate artificial Devil Fruit ability users"—namely, his children.
The Vinsmoke Family's second son, Vinsmoke Ichiji, could use electrical attacks against enemies,